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Yalta Conference
Shortly after the ending of WWII, the Big Three (FDR, Stalin, and Churchill) held a meeting to discuss about governing Germany, who was defeated in the war. This is the social theme because the event represents how the leaders of other countries interacted with each other. -
Truman Doctrine
As Greece and Turkey were in danger of becoming communist, President Truman of the U.S. borrows 400 million dollars from congress to aid both countries to fight communism. He did this to limit communism where it already exists and prevent it from spreading to new areas. This is the intellectual theme because it represents a clever way to limit having a certain government without hurting the people. Even though the doctrine didn't physically hurt the citizens, it later led to a revolt. -
Marshall Plan
This plan was created by George Marshall, the U.S. Secretary of state. In this plan, the United States would lend Europe money so they could rebuild from the destruction caused by WWII. This is the economic theme because it represents how the U.S. and other countries use their resources. In the Cold War, this led to Europe not accepting the money because they thought it was a trick. This is also the cultural theme because it shows how Europeans felt about Americans during the time. -
Berlin Blockade
In response to the United States aiding European countries, the Russians block all land and water access to Berlin, which was land that the Soviets owned at the time. This is the political theme because it represents the Russians abusing their power to harm their people. This blockade in Berlin led to many civilians starving to death. -
Berlin Airlift
In response to the Berlin Blockade, U.S. and British planes flew nearly 1.5 million tons of supplies to West Berlin so the citizens wouldn't starve to death. This is the economic theme because it shows how much food countries at the time had to buy just to serve a fraction of their people. This airlift caused the Soviets to give in and reopen all access to Berlin. -
Comecon
Comecon, meaning the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, was Russia's response to the Marshall Plan. The purpose was to provide other nations with aid, just like with the Marshall Plan. This is the social theme because it shows how leaders of a country care for not just their own people. -
Korean War
In year 1950, North Korea crossed the 38th parallel. The United States came to aid South Korea and Russia and China aided North Korea. This war ended with a stalemate and the people re-established the border differently along the parallel. This represents the geographic theme because it shows how countries gained new territory. -
Space Race
The United States and Russia wanted to have a competition to see who was more advanced in technology. Russia won the competition by sending the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin. The United States then evened the competition again by putting the first man on the moon in 1969. This is the social theme because it shows how high the tensions were between the Americans and the Russians. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
In year 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban government and with the help of the Soviet Union, made them all communist. Then, in year 1961, the United States trained nearly 1,000 soldiers and invaded. This is the social theme because the invasion shows how other countries feel about each other and the tensions they had with one another. This invasion failed and resulted in all diplomatic relations being cut. -
Berlin Wall
The government of Eastern Berlin built the Berlin Wall to prevent the citizens from going to West Berlin because the West was controlled by Russia at the time. This violated the peoples' freedom so many protested and started riots. The wall finally got torn down on November 9, 1989 and this collapsed communism in Eastern Europe. This is both the geographic and psychological theme because it shows how citizens think about the world around them and what they will do to keep their freedom. -
Gold Round Final
Since 1936, the United States had never lost a game in the Olympics in basketball. But in 1972, the Russians had finally beaten the U.S. in the ice hockey Gold Round Final 51-50. This is the social theme because it shows how competitive the two countries were, ruler to ruler and team to team. -
Putin Rigged Russian Election
Vladimir Putin was the President of Russia from 2000 to 2008. Then, in year 2012, he won the election again. This was Putin's 3rd term as President and citizens believed he rigged the election and the results weren't accurate. This is the intellectual theme because it shows that when your the ruler of your country, you can secretly get away with a lot of things. This 2012 election led to massive protests and riots, which did not succeed. -
Current Event - Putin Rigged U.S. Election
In the United States Presidential election in 2016, even though Trump barely won the election, many believe that Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia hacked and rigged the election. This is the intellectual theme because Putin got away with rigging the election and no one did anything about it. -
Interview 1
I chose to interview my dad because he was alive during the time and knew a lot about it. -
Interview 2
I chose to interview my mom because she was alive during the time and was currently living in Germany at the time.
